Posted on 02/16/2004 8:30:43 AM PST by ClintonBeGone
By Susan Vela Lansing State Journal
LESLIE - The Ingham County prosecutor dismissed sexual assault charges against a Leslie High School teacher Friday after an investigation revealed his accuser lied.
Popular special education teacher Craig Fry, 49, of Lansing was charged last month with three counts of felony criminal sexual conduct after he was accused of nonconsensual penetration and touching.
A 16-year-old special education student told authorities that Fry assaulted her last spring and fall.
But it never happened.
Fry's lawyer, Lawrence Emery - a former county prosecutor - said Friday his client faced life in prison if the charges hadn't been dropped. And the teacher's reputation may have been irreparably harmed, he said.
Emery said he believes Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III could have investigated further before charging Fry.
"The (girl's) lies were detected, but not the toll," Emery said. Fry "has been forced out of the work he loves and subjected to the most humiliating experience that one can imagine.
"His name and photograph have been prominently depicted ... in connection with repulsive crimes against a child."
After he was arrested, Fry let deputies take the computer at his Wood Street residence, which showed no trace of the sexual chat room messages the girl claimed came from him. But Dunnings already had charged Fry, who later passed two polygraph tests.
Dunnings said the girl and an unidentified male started an e-mail account in Fry's name, then conducted the Internet chats. With the content of those chat rooms and a call from the girl's grandmother, her legal guardian, saying she was being abused, Dunnings said he felt obligated to pursue the case.
Investigators won't say whether they know why the girl lied, or if she admitted doing so.
The girl's online relationship with the out-of-state male lasted from spring to fall - the same period in which Dunnings originally said Fry assaulted the girl.
Teacher is victim
Dunnings said he has few regrets about pursuing the charges because of strong initial evidence.
"I regret what happened to Mr. Fry. I don't have any problem with how this has come out," Dunnings said. "We would have been remiss in our duties to not take action."
Calling Fry the real victim of the case, Dunnings said at a Friday news conference that the girl's story was "totally concocted (and) totally fabricated."
The girl could be charged as a juvenile in the family court system, where she would face detention, probation, $150 in fines, community service, having to write an apology and wearing an electronic tether.
Whether the girl will be charged depends on deputies' future interviews with her Internet friend, whose identity Dunnings would not reveal.
Deputies said the investigation focuses on how the male became involved in the hoax.
As Dunnings gathered reporters to clear Fry's name in Leslie, the teacher was at his Lansing home. Fry referred questions to his lawyer.
Emery said he's satisfied with the charges being dropped, but wants to see the girl expelled.
He said Fry has lost weight and slept little since he was called into the Leslie superintendent's office Jan. 16 and taken into custody.
Fry was released from Ingham County Jail on bond that same day. But he's been unable to work because the district placed him on paid administrative leave until the charges were resolved.
Emery said Fry wants to return to Leslie High School, where he earns $58,381 a year.
Superintendent Bob Howe said Fry could return in about two weeks. First, Howe said, an internal investigation must be finished and the district also needs reports on the criminal investigation.
The charges rocked this small southern Ingham County town. Howe said people haven't known whom to blame - the teacher, his accuser or investigators.
"It's a delicate situation that he's had to endure," Howe said.
Howe said the girl could be expelled. She stopped attending school after charges were filed and returned for a few days this week.
Happens too often
East Lansing criminal defense lawyer Linda Widener said prosecutors too often file criminal sexual conduct cases before conducting thorough investigations.
People such as Fry "are tagged as a rapist, essentially. And the downside is ... you've got that tag even if later you're cleared," she said. "Everyone is looking at you, thinking, "Oh, my God! My child goes to that school.' "
Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said two detectives worked the case full time, and soon after the charges were filed, they discovered statements from Fry and the girl starkly contradicted each other. "I regret that she lied to us," Wriggelsworth said. "We spent a lot of capital on this."
Contact Susan Vela at 702-4248 or svela@lsj.com.
Sounds pretty advanced for special-ed!
That's the old way.
The new way is: "The victim is inherently reliable; and, therefore, the allegation itself is probable cause for arrest.
Neat! Makes police work a lot easier!
Also, it doesn't pay to investigate: if you have exculpatory evidence to the extent that it virtually exonerates the accused, you're gonna be told that you have to arrest anyway.
If an officer is lazy, this is a great thing.
If an officer has a conscience, he's gonna have to find a new job or develop a fatalistic attitude.
LOL I guess speds today are a bit different than when we were growing up. I think most are less physically challenged than we remember. Instead, I think they are more often than not the younger criminal element, as this girl has so aptly demonstrated.
I think the Sheriff confirms what you said: "Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said two detectives worked the case full time, and soon after the charges were filed, they discovered statements from Fry and the girl starkly contradicted each other. "I regret that she lied to us," Wriggelsworth said. "We spent a lot of capital on this." "
Follow the money.
If you have your child declared mentally handicapped, you get a nice little Supplemental Security check from the government each month that you can use at the casino.
You're exactly right. It's no different that being part of a conspiracy to rob a bank. If you're driving the get away car and your fellow conspirator inside the bank shoots and kills someone, you will be charged with murder too! If we had such a law back in the day, do you think Towana Brawley and Al Sharpton would have ever seen a headline?
You've got to be kidding me!
If your income allows- my son is autistic and we are out of the income limits for SSI. But then- people who are already getting benefits are more likely to try to get more!
It's pretty obvious that's who we are talking about here.
They won't do that, based upon the popular theory that such action will prevent actual victims from coming forward.
Even then, in my state, eg, false report of ANY crime is a misdemeanor offense.
Trajan88
Special ed these days encompasses a wide variety of disabilities & levels...could be mental retardation, ADHD, physical problems, emotionally disturbed....no telling.
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